Prathibha Yadav1, Vishnu Datt Bohra2
The roles of trace elements especially copper and zinc in carcinogenesis in relation to disease activity have shown useful in estimating the extent and prognosis of malignant tumor in the digestive organ. Keeping this in consideration, the study was conducted on 140 subjects either sex out of which 35 normal adults and 105 gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients. The follow up study was further undertaken and values of serum Cu and Zn of the same patients before and after surgery were recorded. The study showed that there was significant elevation (p<0.01) of serum copper levels before surgery and serum copper levels were deceased significantly (p<0.05) after surgery. Serum Zn level was found significantly (p<0.05) lower in GI cancer patients while the Zn level was increased significantly (p<0.01) after surgery. There was significant increase (p<0.01) in Cu/ Zn ratio of GI cancer patients before surgery in contrast to the control. The serum copper level in patients of GI cancer decreased significantly after surgery resulting normalization of metabolic process. A significant increase in serum Zn levels have been observed after treatment of the patients. The Cu/ Zn ratio decreased significantly after the surgery. These observations clearly indicate that serum Cu, Zn and Cu/ Zn ratio are useful in estimating the extent and prognosis of malignant tumors in digestive organs.
